Change = Change
For me, I recently really began to change my diet. I had been eating out nearly everyday, sometimes multiple times a day for months after starting my new job. Mainly because planning my meals ahead took too much time and also because having a husband, 2 kids, a full time job, Zumba classes, and other obligations, eating out was just easier. That change really wasn't new, I have been seeking a healthy way of life off and on for a few years now, it is just that I am getting more and more serious as time goes by. Also, a healthy way of life is a process and I tend to try and work through this one step at a time.
But why is change a big deal and why does it cause more change? Well, changing the fact that I don't eat out as much not only changed me, but my family had to make a change too. We also went from buying just whatever at the store to buying organic and things from the health food section which caused our grocery bill to go up. We buy farm goods on a weekly basis, another change. The point I am trying to make is that my healthy choices don't just effect me.
When I first started trying to lose weight after having my daughter, I gradually added workouts. Then I graduated to working out on my lunch and going to the gym. Obviously, Zumba was also part of that. I went from spending a lot of time at home to spending time away. My family had to make a little bit of a shift. Last year my husband and I started working out together to spend some quality time, and that was really special to me. My life had changed, is still changing. Now with my new post baby bod, I have to make even more changes to get where I want to be. Even still these things aren't always easy. I am blessed that my husband and family have been supportive, but I have lost friends along the way because the things we had in common were no longer the same, and the things that became important to me were no longer important to them. They just didn't understand why my focus was different, or why I had to workout all the time.
There are a few things to keep in mind when you make a life change that also effects other people.
#1 - Just because you like it doesn't mean they have to, at least not right away.
Does this suck? Yes. Can you do anything about it? No, just be patient and hope they come around.
#2 - Just because your priorities have changed doesn't mean that theirs will or have to.
#3 - You may lose people in your journey for change. You may also gain people and a different perspective on life.
Does this make it easier, I don't know, maybe. The important thing to keep in mind when you are excited about your progress, but others seem not to be is that: Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. In other words, try to be the healthiest and happiest you can be, those who want to be happy with you will stay and those who don't will leave. Either way, the end result still means you are happy~
Friday, June 7, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Marketing the work "FRESH"
I posted an article to my Facebook yesterday that really got on my nerves. I see articles like this all the time. They claim that eating out can have healthy options, then go through various menu choices at various fast food joints and claim that you can still "Eat Right" while eating out. I am about to pick this article apart so stay with me.......here is the article:
http://fitbie.msn.com/slideshow/15-surprising-places-youll-find-healthy-food
Please read through it.
I understand that it is great to have a gas station or drug store carry items (fruit or veggies) you can grab in a pinch in order to eat healthier during a "fast" lunch. That is about all the article contributes to a healthy lifestyle. On page 5 it brings up Arby's and their Market Fresh menu.......this is where steam starts coming out my ears......
http://cds.arbys.com/pdfs/nutrition/nutrition-info.pdf
That is the link to Arby's entire nutrition menu. I hate to throw Arby's under the bus like this since they are not the ones who wrote the article. However, the Turkey Market Fresh sandwiches that are supposed to be the healthiest options on the menu, happen to be some of the most fattening, highest calorie, highest sodium options that they have. The article even uses a picture of the Turkey Ranch and Bacon sandwich.
Let's compare shall we?
I made the comparisons for you by breaking up the nutrition info to compare the regular roast beef sandwiches and the Market Fresh.
There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start......
I guess I will start with saying that just because something is lower in calories or fat doesn't make it "better." The reason I say this is because from my own personal reference things labeled low fat or low calorie have a ton of chemicals, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and sodium in them. I should really discuss that in another blog, but I just wanted to throw that out there because I want you to look at entire labels before deciding to eat it or not.
First thing is first, take a look at the weight "size" of the portions. Sadly the Roast Beef Classic is nearly half the weight of the Market Fresh Turkey Ranch & Bacon. The calories in the MF (Market Fresh) group are out of control. They even have more fat calories and fat content as well as saturated fat, which is ironic since the article claims that the turkey was a low fat option, right? The cholesterol grams in all foods listed isn't great, I just found that the MF foods seemed to be more consistently higher then the Roast Beef.
As for the sodium, HOLY HAND GRENADES BATMAN!!!! You want to know why you might be holding on to weight even though you are choosing healthy options while eating out? Well there is your answer!!!!
MF has more carbs, but has more fiber, not enough to make up for all the other junk in it but it is a positive, just as the protein in the MF is more. However, it also has more sugar.
MF does beat the Roast Beef in vitamins, calcium, and iron, but if you are waiting for your fast food intake to meet your daily vitamin intake, you'll be waiting awhile...........and gaining a lot.
I will add that there were other items on Arby's menu that seemed to be better options all together, but they were not MF sandwiches. The salads were slightly better, but had high fat content and cholesterol for a salad. The Turkey Roasters were also better on calories overall and better on cholesterol and carbs but still had high sodium content.
Why am I taking the time to write about this???
Because articles like this confuse those who are looking for healthy options. They read an article like that in a nationally/internationally advertised news source and think because the information is out there that it must be true or that it must be right, but it isn't. You saw those numbers, if anything I would say that MF was one of the worst things on the menu to eat for my own personal nutritional needs. The MF portions are large, they contain tons of cholesterol, sodium, and fat. I don't care that they have some vitamins, granted a very small amount. That in no way makes up for all the bad stuff.
In conclusion.....I ask, beg, plead with you..........please read, please research, and please question the information you are given. There are tons of articles out there claiming one thing or another. What is important is that you follow the diet (daily source of food, I am not talking about a weight loss plan) that is needed in order to fuel your body and live a healthy life. I am slowly making this change. I do stay away from artificial sweeteners, things labeled "low fat, no fat", try to avoid preservatives, and eat as much organic as I can. If you are making a change, please do your research!
http://fitbie.msn.com/slideshow/15-surprising-places-youll-find-healthy-food
Please read through it.
I understand that it is great to have a gas station or drug store carry items (fruit or veggies) you can grab in a pinch in order to eat healthier during a "fast" lunch. That is about all the article contributes to a healthy lifestyle. On page 5 it brings up Arby's and their Market Fresh menu.......this is where steam starts coming out my ears......
http://cds.arbys.com/pdfs/nutrition/nutrition-info.pdf
That is the link to Arby's entire nutrition menu. I hate to throw Arby's under the bus like this since they are not the ones who wrote the article. However, the Turkey Market Fresh sandwiches that are supposed to be the healthiest options on the menu, happen to be some of the most fattening, highest calorie, highest sodium options that they have. The article even uses a picture of the Turkey Ranch and Bacon sandwich.
Let's compare shall we?
I made the comparisons for you by breaking up the nutrition info to compare the regular roast beef sandwiches and the Market Fresh.
There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start......
I guess I will start with saying that just because something is lower in calories or fat doesn't make it "better." The reason I say this is because from my own personal reference things labeled low fat or low calorie have a ton of chemicals, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and sodium in them. I should really discuss that in another blog, but I just wanted to throw that out there because I want you to look at entire labels before deciding to eat it or not.
First thing is first, take a look at the weight "size" of the portions. Sadly the Roast Beef Classic is nearly half the weight of the Market Fresh Turkey Ranch & Bacon. The calories in the MF (Market Fresh) group are out of control. They even have more fat calories and fat content as well as saturated fat, which is ironic since the article claims that the turkey was a low fat option, right? The cholesterol grams in all foods listed isn't great, I just found that the MF foods seemed to be more consistently higher then the Roast Beef.
As for the sodium, HOLY HAND GRENADES BATMAN!!!! You want to know why you might be holding on to weight even though you are choosing healthy options while eating out? Well there is your answer!!!!
MF has more carbs, but has more fiber, not enough to make up for all the other junk in it but it is a positive, just as the protein in the MF is more. However, it also has more sugar.
MF does beat the Roast Beef in vitamins, calcium, and iron, but if you are waiting for your fast food intake to meet your daily vitamin intake, you'll be waiting awhile...........and gaining a lot.
I will add that there were other items on Arby's menu that seemed to be better options all together, but they were not MF sandwiches. The salads were slightly better, but had high fat content and cholesterol for a salad. The Turkey Roasters were also better on calories overall and better on cholesterol and carbs but still had high sodium content.
Why am I taking the time to write about this???
Because articles like this confuse those who are looking for healthy options. They read an article like that in a nationally/internationally advertised news source and think because the information is out there that it must be true or that it must be right, but it isn't. You saw those numbers, if anything I would say that MF was one of the worst things on the menu to eat for my own personal nutritional needs. The MF portions are large, they contain tons of cholesterol, sodium, and fat. I don't care that they have some vitamins, granted a very small amount. That in no way makes up for all the bad stuff.
In conclusion.....I ask, beg, plead with you..........please read, please research, and please question the information you are given. There are tons of articles out there claiming one thing or another. What is important is that you follow the diet (daily source of food, I am not talking about a weight loss plan) that is needed in order to fuel your body and live a healthy life. I am slowly making this change. I do stay away from artificial sweeteners, things labeled "low fat, no fat", try to avoid preservatives, and eat as much organic as I can. If you are making a change, please do your research!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Good times, let's buckle down
Yesterday was a great day! I started my day off with trip to West Teays Elementary and did a 20 minute Zumba class for the 5th graders! I love being invited to events like that where I can share my passion for exercise and also have a great time with the kids!
After I got to work I looked up Z-life Magazine on my Zumba Fitness homepage. Z-life is Zumba's Magazine and is distributed world-wide. It can be purchased from the Zumba website or Z-life's website.
A few months ago I had submitted my Zumba story, they contacted me and told me they wanted to put me, along with other instructors and students, in a feature they were doing. Here is the article:
After I got to work I looked up Z-life Magazine on my Zumba Fitness homepage. Z-life is Zumba's Magazine and is distributed world-wide. It can be purchased from the Zumba website or Z-life's website.
A few months ago I had submitted my Zumba story, they contacted me and told me they wanted to put me, along with other instructors and students, in a feature they were doing. Here is the article:
Huge honor? You bet!!!! Even more exciting is the fact that I was able to spread the word about HELLP to a new audience and maybe, just maybe it might help someone else.
I hope this week continues to go well, lots to do!!! I am also challenging myself with 2 new goals in regards to my diet. #1 - no eating after Zumba class, I usually just snack, but I want to cut that out. and #2 - work on my sodium intake.
Anyways........until next time!!!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Appreciation Friday
I typically am very critical of my body. I don't really try and compare my body to that of a super model or other people because I do know that I am different. Right now I am having a hard time not comparing myself to.....myself. Before having Zumba baby, I felt that I looked the best I had ever looked in my married life :) I had one child via C-section, but was able to tone and get my body back together. Now I look at myself and worry and even find myself wishing I looked like my old self, which ironically I took for granted.
I am sure you all have done this too. However, today I am going to appreciate what my body has been through. In my previous post from a couple of days ago, I talked about my struggle with HELLP syndrome. It was a scary experience, but the thought of how my body had to fight is more amazing and important. My body was able to regulate itself in a matter of days. If you have read on HELLP syndrome you can see that most women who are a Class I like I was, have extended stays in the hospital, problems with blood pressure and iron levels after being discharged, and for 79,000 moms and 500,000 babies a year they don't make it through the horrible experience.
For this I am grateful. As frustrated as I can be with my body for not looking the way that I want it to, I am happy that it pulled me through a very difficult and horrifying time in my life. It also chose to protect and help my precious baby. Truth be told, by the time I was released from the hospital all my levels were nearly back to normal, and a week later everything was fine.
This is why I tell people that even if you are not trying to lose weight, even if you are happy with what you look like, you need to exercise.
My entire pregnancy I had people tell me to slow down, relax, not workout as much. I'm glad I listened to my doctors instead. My workout regimen made my heart stronger and regulated my blood pressure, reduced my swelling, and kept my body from failing me as long as possible before my liver couldn't continue.
.......I know everyone has a different story, and if you don't then try to think of a time that your body did something great. It could be a time when you had a child, which alone is an amazing function of a woman's body. Or the fact that you have lost a lot of weight, it could be the fact that your body has tolerated exercise and you have maintained a healthy lifestyle because of it.
I'm going to love my body today, and maybe it will help me to love it tomorrow!
I am sure you all have done this too. However, today I am going to appreciate what my body has been through. In my previous post from a couple of days ago, I talked about my struggle with HELLP syndrome. It was a scary experience, but the thought of how my body had to fight is more amazing and important. My body was able to regulate itself in a matter of days. If you have read on HELLP syndrome you can see that most women who are a Class I like I was, have extended stays in the hospital, problems with blood pressure and iron levels after being discharged, and for 79,000 moms and 500,000 babies a year they don't make it through the horrible experience.
For this I am grateful. As frustrated as I can be with my body for not looking the way that I want it to, I am happy that it pulled me through a very difficult and horrifying time in my life. It also chose to protect and help my precious baby. Truth be told, by the time I was released from the hospital all my levels were nearly back to normal, and a week later everything was fine.
This is why I tell people that even if you are not trying to lose weight, even if you are happy with what you look like, you need to exercise.
My entire pregnancy I had people tell me to slow down, relax, not workout as much. I'm glad I listened to my doctors instead. My workout regimen made my heart stronger and regulated my blood pressure, reduced my swelling, and kept my body from failing me as long as possible before my liver couldn't continue.
.......I know everyone has a different story, and if you don't then try to think of a time that your body did something great. It could be a time when you had a child, which alone is an amazing function of a woman's body. Or the fact that you have lost a lot of weight, it could be the fact that your body has tolerated exercise and you have maintained a healthy lifestyle because of it.
I'm going to love my body today, and maybe it will help me to love it tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
May - National Preeclampsia Awareness Month
Other than Mother's Day, the month of May never really caught my eye. I have a few friends who have birthdays in May, but other than that it is just another month. .........Not anymore
May is National Preeclampsia Awareness Month. For those of you who do not know what Preeclampsia is, it is a condition woman can develop during pregnancy that needs to be monitored in order to ensure good health for mother and baby. This isn't always the case, and at times the condition can become life threatening.
I personally have never had Preeclampsia, but I did have HELLP syndrome which is linked to Preeclampsia. However, my HELLP was not, and developed on its own. In celebration of Preeclampsia awareness month, I am going to recount my birth story. It is important for me to do so because I feel this is the best way to spread awareness about something that threatened my life that I originally was not very educated about.
.........ok, here we go....
My pregnancy for the most part was great. I found myself pushing harder and harder to keep up with my workouts. I look back now and think of how crazy I must have seemed to my Zumba students. I taught 5 days a week and ran 2 days a week. Maybe it was vanity, or maybe it was the fact that it took me so long to recover from my delivery with my daughter, but I refused to just sit back and "relax."
The night of October 27th was a rough night for me. I had a 5K walk for Cervical Cancer Awareness the next day on the 28th and needed to get some sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible pain. It felt like it was under my ribcage and then went from there around to my back on the right side. I thought it was how he was laying inside, but it almost seemed like I was having an attack. I thought it might be gallbladder or something along those lines. I was up for hours. Since I was not able to take much for pain, I took Tylenol. Things calmed down, but I became sore in the area under my ribs. I did the 5K the next day, but never felt any better.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am very hard headed and stubborn. I am also a pretty tough cookie. I battled through this pain for the next week. Eventually it wasn't just at night, but during the day too. I still taught my Zumba class, but at this point thought that perhaps the baby was getting too big for me to be doing so much activity. I decided that since he was due in December that I would stop teaching around Thanksgiving and have subs come in to teach my class.
Because of Hurricane Sandy, trick-or-treat was postponed until November 1st. I remember coming home after work and telling my Husband that I just wanted to get the evening over with. I felt bad because my daughter was looking forward to her evening dressed as Bat Girl, so I put on a happy face, but I was in pain and tired from no sleep. My husband told me that night before we went to bed that I needed to quit playing "tough guy" and call the doctor. That night I was up for 5 hours with pain. Terrible terrible pain. I even thought about going to the ER, but I just kept telling myself it was how he was laying. I popped more Tylenol and finally got back to sleep at 5am.
The next morning I told my husband I was calling the doctor, and so I did. I called them around 9 or 10 and told them about my pain. I told them I thought it was my gallbladder, and they scheduled me an ultrasound for Monday, but wanted me to come in the office to be seen that day just to make sure everything was ok.
I got there around noon, my mom and I both had Fridays off and she took me to my appointment. Dr. Assaley was in and listened to the baby's heartbeat and took my blood pressure. His heart rate was normal, and my blood pressure was also in the normal range, but was slightly elevated for me personally. My doctor said that he wanted me to get some blood work before I headed home, so that is what I did right after my appointment.
My mom and I went to Wal-mart after I had my blood taken, then went to eat at Chick-fil-a. At around 3 o'clock I got a phone call while my daughter was playing in the play place. It was my nurse from Dr. Assaley's office, I was instructed to get to Labor and Delivery immediately and was told to make sure I didn't eat anything.....oops..... :(
I was scared to death when I got to the hospital. As I mentioned before, he was due in December, December 14th. This was November 2nd. I was exactly 34 weeks to the day. It was too early, he was too little. I get to the hospital where I was greeted by two nurses, 2 residents, and an Anesthesiologist. I was told my doctor was on his way and I was hooked up to monitors and a blood pressure cuff that took my blood pressure every, I don't know, 15 minutes it seemed. I was so confused. I never asked my doctor what test he was ordering and to be honest I didn't really care. I trusted him and figured he was just trying to be over cautious. He was being over cautious, but because he suspected that I was much sicker than I let on.
I called my husband at work crying my eyes out, I had no idea what was going on but I knew before anyone told me that I would be delivering soon. They took my blood again, Dr. Assaley came in the room and explained to me what was going on. I had HELLP syndrome. Excuse me? What? What the heck is that? I'm fine, I'm healthy, no swelling, no protein in my urine, no high blood pressure. What are you talking about?
http://www.preeclampsia.org/health-information/hellp-syndrome?gclid=CK7myK6vp7cCFcN9Ogodj20AyQ
All I could think about was my baby, what would happen to my baby?
The final test results came back, I would be having an emergency c-section after I had a platelet transfusion. If you click the link above you will see information about HELLP syndrome. My platelet levels were dangerously low. Typical levels should be between 150,000-450,000, mine were in the 30,000. After my transfusion, I was taken to surgery, my baby was delivered at 6:23pm. He weighted 3lbs 8oz and was 16 inches long. So tiny. I remember waking up from my c-section and asking in my haze over and over again his weight, if he was breathing, where he was.
He was taken to the NICU and put on c-pap. I was put on Magnesium and given 2 bags of blood. Let me just add that Magnesium is probably one of the nastiest drugs ever. It makes you feel terrible, you can't think, and you feel like you can't breath. It was needed though to help keep me from having a seizure or a stroke, both complications of HELLP. I couldn't eat, the idea made me sick. Everyone seemed so concerned about me, which bothered me. I didn't care, I was worried about my baby. I was too stubborn to let surgery or this weird illness get me down. People were calling me, I had blood taken every 4 hours, the blood pressure cuff never left my arm, I was hooked up to monitors and IV's. My arms looked like I had been shooting up drugs for 10 years.
Luke was doing well, off his C-PAP after a day, he was breathing room air, the only thing he was waiting on was his mommy. I got to see him the next day after they took me off Mag. I got to hold him. His nurses said he was agitated, didn't want anyone touching him, cried it they tried to. But as soon as I came to see him, held him in my arms he stopped crying and opened his eyes to look at me.
The next two days I worked my way out of my bed and walked as much as I had energy for. C-sections are already rough on a body, it is not how we are meant to deliver a baby, not to mention I was sore from laying in bed and the bruising from my non-clotting :(
I got dressed out of my gown, took a shower, put make-up on. I needed to feel better and I find the best way to start that is to look better. I was discharged that Monday, my doctor knew I would be in the NICU all the time anyways and my levels were looking great.
Luke spent the next 2 weeks in the NICU trying to gain weight. He did so well and was released before his expected due date!
Fast forward to today, we are both doing well. Very well. At the time I paid little attention to myself. As a mom, it is my job to worry about my kids, but when I got home the research started. I looked up HELLP, the symptoms, how rare it is. How did this happen? I was healthy, in shape, I only gained 18lbs. My doctor reassured me there was nothing I could have done differently. He did however tell me that all the exercise wasn't a waste. It may have saved our lives because another complication of HELLP, is congestive heart failure. My heart was strong, I had kept my blood pressure at bay, all from keeping up with my workouts and trying to stay as fit as possible.
I am sorry this was so long and if you have read this far you are almost finished :)
May is now a great month for me to celebrate life, my life, the life of my family! For the attentiveness of my doctor, who I will be forever grateful! Dr. Assaley has been more than a doctor to me and my family and I am so blessed he was with us through this process!
Luke's NICU doctors and nurses (esp Kathy) were encouraging and helpful. They helped ease my fears, and of course took wonderful care of my baby.
If you have time please read this article with the two accounts of these woman who didn't have the best recovery. Sadly, not all women or babies suffering from HELLP get that chance. It is life threatening and to this day I wish I had paid more attention to my body.http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2011/06/06/87-hellp-syndrome-seminar-offers-patient-a-provider-perspective
Until next time :)
May is National Preeclampsia Awareness Month. For those of you who do not know what Preeclampsia is, it is a condition woman can develop during pregnancy that needs to be monitored in order to ensure good health for mother and baby. This isn't always the case, and at times the condition can become life threatening.
I personally have never had Preeclampsia, but I did have HELLP syndrome which is linked to Preeclampsia. However, my HELLP was not, and developed on its own. In celebration of Preeclampsia awareness month, I am going to recount my birth story. It is important for me to do so because I feel this is the best way to spread awareness about something that threatened my life that I originally was not very educated about.
.........ok, here we go....
My pregnancy for the most part was great. I found myself pushing harder and harder to keep up with my workouts. I look back now and think of how crazy I must have seemed to my Zumba students. I taught 5 days a week and ran 2 days a week. Maybe it was vanity, or maybe it was the fact that it took me so long to recover from my delivery with my daughter, but I refused to just sit back and "relax."
The night of October 27th was a rough night for me. I had a 5K walk for Cervical Cancer Awareness the next day on the 28th and needed to get some sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible pain. It felt like it was under my ribcage and then went from there around to my back on the right side. I thought it was how he was laying inside, but it almost seemed like I was having an attack. I thought it might be gallbladder or something along those lines. I was up for hours. Since I was not able to take much for pain, I took Tylenol. Things calmed down, but I became sore in the area under my ribs. I did the 5K the next day, but never felt any better.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am very hard headed and stubborn. I am also a pretty tough cookie. I battled through this pain for the next week. Eventually it wasn't just at night, but during the day too. I still taught my Zumba class, but at this point thought that perhaps the baby was getting too big for me to be doing so much activity. I decided that since he was due in December that I would stop teaching around Thanksgiving and have subs come in to teach my class.
Because of Hurricane Sandy, trick-or-treat was postponed until November 1st. I remember coming home after work and telling my Husband that I just wanted to get the evening over with. I felt bad because my daughter was looking forward to her evening dressed as Bat Girl, so I put on a happy face, but I was in pain and tired from no sleep. My husband told me that night before we went to bed that I needed to quit playing "tough guy" and call the doctor. That night I was up for 5 hours with pain. Terrible terrible pain. I even thought about going to the ER, but I just kept telling myself it was how he was laying. I popped more Tylenol and finally got back to sleep at 5am.
The next morning I told my husband I was calling the doctor, and so I did. I called them around 9 or 10 and told them about my pain. I told them I thought it was my gallbladder, and they scheduled me an ultrasound for Monday, but wanted me to come in the office to be seen that day just to make sure everything was ok.
I got there around noon, my mom and I both had Fridays off and she took me to my appointment. Dr. Assaley was in and listened to the baby's heartbeat and took my blood pressure. His heart rate was normal, and my blood pressure was also in the normal range, but was slightly elevated for me personally. My doctor said that he wanted me to get some blood work before I headed home, so that is what I did right after my appointment.
My mom and I went to Wal-mart after I had my blood taken, then went to eat at Chick-fil-a. At around 3 o'clock I got a phone call while my daughter was playing in the play place. It was my nurse from Dr. Assaley's office, I was instructed to get to Labor and Delivery immediately and was told to make sure I didn't eat anything.....oops..... :(
I was scared to death when I got to the hospital. As I mentioned before, he was due in December, December 14th. This was November 2nd. I was exactly 34 weeks to the day. It was too early, he was too little. I get to the hospital where I was greeted by two nurses, 2 residents, and an Anesthesiologist. I was told my doctor was on his way and I was hooked up to monitors and a blood pressure cuff that took my blood pressure every, I don't know, 15 minutes it seemed. I was so confused. I never asked my doctor what test he was ordering and to be honest I didn't really care. I trusted him and figured he was just trying to be over cautious. He was being over cautious, but because he suspected that I was much sicker than I let on.
I called my husband at work crying my eyes out, I had no idea what was going on but I knew before anyone told me that I would be delivering soon. They took my blood again, Dr. Assaley came in the room and explained to me what was going on. I had HELLP syndrome. Excuse me? What? What the heck is that? I'm fine, I'm healthy, no swelling, no protein in my urine, no high blood pressure. What are you talking about?
http://www.preeclampsia.org/health-information/hellp-syndrome?gclid=CK7myK6vp7cCFcN9Ogodj20AyQ
All I could think about was my baby, what would happen to my baby?
The final test results came back, I would be having an emergency c-section after I had a platelet transfusion. If you click the link above you will see information about HELLP syndrome. My platelet levels were dangerously low. Typical levels should be between 150,000-450,000, mine were in the 30,000. After my transfusion, I was taken to surgery, my baby was delivered at 6:23pm. He weighted 3lbs 8oz and was 16 inches long. So tiny. I remember waking up from my c-section and asking in my haze over and over again his weight, if he was breathing, where he was.
He was taken to the NICU and put on c-pap. I was put on Magnesium and given 2 bags of blood. Let me just add that Magnesium is probably one of the nastiest drugs ever. It makes you feel terrible, you can't think, and you feel like you can't breath. It was needed though to help keep me from having a seizure or a stroke, both complications of HELLP. I couldn't eat, the idea made me sick. Everyone seemed so concerned about me, which bothered me. I didn't care, I was worried about my baby. I was too stubborn to let surgery or this weird illness get me down. People were calling me, I had blood taken every 4 hours, the blood pressure cuff never left my arm, I was hooked up to monitors and IV's. My arms looked like I had been shooting up drugs for 10 years.
Luke was doing well, off his C-PAP after a day, he was breathing room air, the only thing he was waiting on was his mommy. I got to see him the next day after they took me off Mag. I got to hold him. His nurses said he was agitated, didn't want anyone touching him, cried it they tried to. But as soon as I came to see him, held him in my arms he stopped crying and opened his eyes to look at me.
The next two days I worked my way out of my bed and walked as much as I had energy for. C-sections are already rough on a body, it is not how we are meant to deliver a baby, not to mention I was sore from laying in bed and the bruising from my non-clotting :(
I got dressed out of my gown, took a shower, put make-up on. I needed to feel better and I find the best way to start that is to look better. I was discharged that Monday, my doctor knew I would be in the NICU all the time anyways and my levels were looking great.
Luke spent the next 2 weeks in the NICU trying to gain weight. He did so well and was released before his expected due date!
Fast forward to today, we are both doing well. Very well. At the time I paid little attention to myself. As a mom, it is my job to worry about my kids, but when I got home the research started. I looked up HELLP, the symptoms, how rare it is. How did this happen? I was healthy, in shape, I only gained 18lbs. My doctor reassured me there was nothing I could have done differently. He did however tell me that all the exercise wasn't a waste. It may have saved our lives because another complication of HELLP, is congestive heart failure. My heart was strong, I had kept my blood pressure at bay, all from keeping up with my workouts and trying to stay as fit as possible.
I am sorry this was so long and if you have read this far you are almost finished :)
May is now a great month for me to celebrate life, my life, the life of my family! For the attentiveness of my doctor, who I will be forever grateful! Dr. Assaley has been more than a doctor to me and my family and I am so blessed he was with us through this process!
Luke's NICU doctors and nurses (esp Kathy) were encouraging and helpful. They helped ease my fears, and of course took wonderful care of my baby.
If you have time please read this article with the two accounts of these woman who didn't have the best recovery. Sadly, not all women or babies suffering from HELLP get that chance. It is life threatening and to this day I wish I had paid more attention to my body.http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2011/06/06/87-hellp-syndrome-seminar-offers-patient-a-provider-perspective
Until next time :)
Monday, May 20, 2013
Down on the farm
My husband and I recently decided to start eating organic and local farm goods and trying to put more of that in our diet. We started participating in our local CSA group and we get fresh goods every Friday. This week we received different types of greens, lettuce, kale, and flowers. That's right, flowers you eat. Anyone who knows me know that I 1. hate trying new things, and 2. that I hate most things that are green. This flower was now green, but you get the idea.
After looking it up, I think they are called St. John's Wort. You can google it, anyways......they were pretty good and I had them on a salad last night. :) Just thought I would share!!
After looking it up, I think they are called St. John's Wort. You can google it, anyways......they were pretty good and I had them on a salad last night. :) Just thought I would share!!
Monday Fatday
I start off most of my weeks like this. For whatever reason I am having such a hard time with my body image these days. I was at a few events this weekend, running a 5K and 2 Zumba events, and can't even bare looking at the pictures. I just want the rest of this weight off.
Yes I just had a baby 6 months ago, yes, I am a breast feeding mom, yes, I work 40 hours a week and in addition I teach Zumba classes and run whenever I get the chance ( like my lunch break). But alas, I am not seeing the results I want, or had hoped for.
There are a few things that influence me feeling this way. One probably being my years of competing in pageants where my body needed to look a certain way to be competitive. No harm no foul, just the way it is in the pageant world. The second thing that bothers me is that it took so long to shed the weight after having Brook that I fear it will take that long again. The next thing to bother me is that I was so good to watch my weight gain and continued working out throughout my pregnancy that I am sad my body looks the way that it does.
The last thing that bothers me is that as an instructor who is very much involved with my participants and encouraging them in their journey, I find that my body image and current weight to be missing the mark for what I consider to be a good example. I am not much on the "do as I say not as I do" mentality, I want to be proof that what I encourage others to do actually works. * Disclaimer: No instructor has to look a certain way or be a certain weight, we are all here to have fun and offer a great class, I am just in my own head and expect to look a certain way, I in no way superimpose this on other instructors!
In my heart of hearts I know that my body has experienced a very traumatic occurrence by bringing Zumba baby into the world after delivering him because of my HELLP Syndrome, that being said, I just can't convince my mind to be nice to me on days like today. Having him was my second c-section, emergency at that, which put stress on my liver and other parts of my body. All my levels have been normal for months, but that doesn't mean my body is done healing either. I must keep this in mind.
Am I going to give up? Heck no.....is this a terrible mind game? YES! Will I win? I always do :D
Yes I just had a baby 6 months ago, yes, I am a breast feeding mom, yes, I work 40 hours a week and in addition I teach Zumba classes and run whenever I get the chance ( like my lunch break). But alas, I am not seeing the results I want, or had hoped for.
There are a few things that influence me feeling this way. One probably being my years of competing in pageants where my body needed to look a certain way to be competitive. No harm no foul, just the way it is in the pageant world. The second thing that bothers me is that it took so long to shed the weight after having Brook that I fear it will take that long again. The next thing to bother me is that I was so good to watch my weight gain and continued working out throughout my pregnancy that I am sad my body looks the way that it does.
The last thing that bothers me is that as an instructor who is very much involved with my participants and encouraging them in their journey, I find that my body image and current weight to be missing the mark for what I consider to be a good example. I am not much on the "do as I say not as I do" mentality, I want to be proof that what I encourage others to do actually works. * Disclaimer: No instructor has to look a certain way or be a certain weight, we are all here to have fun and offer a great class, I am just in my own head and expect to look a certain way, I in no way superimpose this on other instructors!
In my heart of hearts I know that my body has experienced a very traumatic occurrence by bringing Zumba baby into the world after delivering him because of my HELLP Syndrome, that being said, I just can't convince my mind to be nice to me on days like today. Having him was my second c-section, emergency at that, which put stress on my liver and other parts of my body. All my levels have been normal for months, but that doesn't mean my body is done healing either. I must keep this in mind.
Am I going to give up? Heck no.....is this a terrible mind game? YES! Will I win? I always do :D
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